Ryuji Imada watched someone else go in the water this time.

Imada, a Japan native, claimed his first PGA Tour victory yesterday, beating Kenny Perry in a playoff at the AT&T Classic after losing the same Duluth, Ga., event a year ago on the 73rd hole. The two finished regulation at 15-under 273, but Perry's ball wound up in the water on the first playoff hole even though his second shot easily cleared the pond in front of the green.

Unfortunately for Perry, he struck a pine tree behind the green about 10 feet up the trunk. The ball ricocheted straight back across the putting surface and didn't stop rolling until it was in the water, the gallery groaning in disbelief.

"I couldn't really tell what happened," said Imada, who was standing on a plateau that towers above the green. "I asked a couple of people and one of them said it was close and another said it was in the water. That's why it took me so long to make the decision to lay up."

Imada, who had driven into the rough, played it safe with an iron on the par-5 hole and wound up two-putting for the winning par.

Imada has been a runner-up three times on the PGA Tour, including twice already this season. A year ago, he got into a playoff with Zach Johnson at the TPC Sugarloaf, only to lose when he knocked his second shot into the same pond that claimed Perry's ball.

• Sybase Classic: Two tournaments without a win was enough for Lorena Ochoa. Ochoa overcame a balky putter to shoot a 1-under 71 and post a one-stroke victory over five players for her third consecutive victory in this LPGA event in Clifton, N.J. A day after putting away the retiring Annika Sorenstam, Ochoa, who finished at 10-under 206, had to withstand a late charge by another Swede, Sophie Gustafson (70), in winning for the sixth time this year. Gustafson missed a 10-footer to tie Ochoa on No. 18.

• Regions Charity Classic: Andy Bean managed to save par on No. 18 after hooking his drive left and bogeying the previous hole, holding on for a 2-under 70 203 total and a one-stroke victory over Loren Roberts (69) in this Champions Tour event in Hoover, Ala.

• Irish Open: Richard Finch shot a 2-under 70 to win in Adare by two strokes for his second European Tour victory of the season. He finished at 10-under 278. Felipe Aguilar of Chile took second place with a closing 70.